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Roy Firestone

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Roy Firestone last won the day on February 28

Roy Firestone had the most liked content!

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  • Location
    Encino, California
  • Homepage
    http://www.royfirestone.com
  • Interests
    Music, Collecting Orioles rarities, Massive Beatles fan and collector
  • Occupation
    broadcaster/lecturer/entertainer
  • Favorite Current Oriole
    Jeremy Guthrie
  • Favorite All Time Oriole
    You kidding? Brooks forever!!!

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  1. Baseball's regular season begins tomorrow. It is a joyous time for me because it renews so many happy moments and times... Some here on this page may know why I love the Orioles and baseball...But for those who may not..on the eve of Opening Day...I'd like to reprise this essay: One night, years ago, when the Orioles had another unlikely comeback win, I ran around my house in my underwear with glee. Even my dog Kobe thought I was a bit insane, and maybe in the moment I was. I stopped and actually asked myself....Why would a grown man act this way over a silly baseball team? Or ANY team for that matter? And why would he act this SAME way for so long? So I decided to try to explain if even I could. A long time ago, when I was having a fit after the Mets beat the Orioles in the World Series...my father tried to get me to come to my senses. He said, "Relax....what did the Orioles ever do for you"? In a way, it was a fair question. At the time, I didn't have a good answer. My dad is gone now, but if he were here...I'd say this. The Orioles never put money in my pocket(I've never been a gambler) or food on my table, or gotten me a job or anything like that. But there's something that still burns in my soul when the franchise is playing well, and is also playing thrilling baseball. I get a visceral charge out of seeing them , not just win, but coming from behind to overcome in doing it. Its an almost indescribable feeling. The Orioles, (with a couple other teams in other sports) put a skip in my step....fire up an adrenaline rush, and make me think of the possibilities of winning...when they play this way. In 2011-12 when the Orioles spoiled the Red Sox post season with an astonishing end of season comeback win..and later went to the playoffs the next year, there was a palpable joy in my heart. I literally couldn't wait to watch the game every night on the MLB ticket (even living in LA). Most females in my life rolled their eyes, or almost mocked me, though a couple began to get it. It's the CARING. This quote from the great Roger Angell really sums it up for me: “It is foolish and childish, on the face of it, to affiliate ourselves with anything so insignificant and patently contrived and commercially exploitative as a professional sports team, and the amused superiority and icy scorn that the non-fan directs at the sports nut (I know this look - I know it by heart) is understandable and almost unanswerable. Almost. What is left out of this calculation, it seems to me, is the business of caring - caring deeply and passionately, really caring - which is a capacity or an emotion that has almost gone out of our lives. And so it seems possible that we have come to a time when it no longer matters so much what the caring is about, how frail or foolish is the object of that concern, as long as the feeling itself can be saved. Naïveté - the infantile and ignoble joy that sends a grown man or woman to dancing in the middle of the night over the haphazardous flight of a distant ball - seems a small price to pay for such a gift.” Roger Angell "A Baseball Companion " And so, I seized upon the caring. I don’t know these current players personally. I've never met a single one. But they're my "boys" now. Like my boys in "real life", these boys occasionally frustrate me, confound me, aggravate me...but the love will never die. When "my boys"do well..I have a metaphoric hug for them. When they deliver a win in dramatic fashion, I feel it personally. So to answer my dad's question..."what did the Orioles ever do for YOU"...I would answer...."They lifted me up...like nothing else in sports can". Don't ever postpone or mute joy.
  2. I hear ya...I just dont know that I've heard people on this page or just Oriole fans in general talk about what an amazing hire she has been for this organisation...if you or others have mentioned it...Im sorry...I didnt see it..
  3. For the first time in many years, I am solidly behind the Oriole brass for doing a fantastic job in acquiring and developing players, sizing up their ability, and utilising their talent. Mike Elias has done a brilliant job as has Sig Mejdal...I feel the Orioles have some of the best personnel minds in baseball. And so it follows that we should also acknowledge Eve Rosenbaum, the Asst. General Manager.Eve is in her second year as the Asst. GM. She is still just 34 years old. She is from Bethesda, Maryland and grew up a die-hard Oriole fan. But she is no "token" woman added to the staff. Eve is laser focused, a detail-oriented person with deep insights into personnel and contracts. She is a Harvard educated , former Harvard softball player who eats, drinks, and sleeps Oriole baseball. I have watched numerous interviews with Eve and she is among the sharpest minds in the baseball front office. She is smart, thoughtful, deeply knowledgable, and very analytical. She prepares contracts and keeps tabs on all Oriole players both in the majors and minors...she is a tremendous asset to the Orioles. Eve Rosenbaum is one of just a handful of women in baseball's front office...we are all lucky to have her. So if we are grateful for Elias , and Sig, we need to mention Eve Rosenbaum too.
  4. Many of these yearbooks or scorecards are EXTREMELY rare...contact me if interested on PM.
  5. My collection includes the World Championship teams...1966, 1970, and 1983 with some of the best Oriole teams leading into those years...1964, 1965, and much more. I would like to auction them all off as one collection....to the highest bidder for my charity now in it''s 30th year. This charity benefits disadvantaged kids and funds sports programs in LA. I'm looking for a generous donation and would be happy to discuss on PM ...Heres a look at SOME of the collection...his collection includes scorecards and yearbooks that go back more than 65years...including the earlier Oriole teams in Baltimore....This is an extensive collection...serious collector bids only...
  6. Irvin has been pretty lousy all Spring...as he was today...he doesnt fill me with a ton of confidence...meanwhile GROD was much better today...
  7. You all have your opinions about him, and frankly, I cant disagree with many of your comments.He was often a stubborn man when it came to Oriole finances...he presided over some crummy teams , questionable hires, and even showed an occasional petty side. But to be fair, Peter Angelos more often than not, stood up for those who had less of a voice, and were often powerless in the face of corporate policies. He won class action suits for people who suffered from asbestos poising and were in poor health.He also took on the tobacco lobby and won a major settlement...those are very, very good, very life changing things for many...and he should be applauded for that... But far more significantly, this man was a giant in terms of his social consciousness, outreach, and dozens of charities in the Baltimore area. He was born on the Fourth of July and was a true American patriot despite the opinions of those who despised his attempt to have his team play Cuban teams while still under Castro's reign...he did it because he believed sports could bring people together.I had very little contact with Peter Angelos except for the one time, at Cal Ripken's HOF induction, we watched an Oriole game together (it was part of a make up game) at a Cooperstown bar...and he recognised me and told me a little about his Greek upbringing...and was very interesting and insightful.He was, in his younger days,an extremely brilliant lawyer and defender of those who had less..Sure, you wouldn't be wrong in your criticisms of him as an owner, though he DID, briefly usher in a Free Agent era that brought the team close to the World Series..but I'll remember this man, if not fondly, with respect for his commitment to his community, and his good works. To me, in the final judgement of a man, that is far more important than winning baseball games..
  8. so youre saying he's "Keith-Meister"....like on SNL...
  9. '"Tightness in the forearm.'..changes everything in an instant...The most dreaded words for a pitcher in baseball are: "Neal S. ElAttrache, "
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